For such a mild-mannered guy, Greg Jackson sure is a polarizing figure.
Lauded by many for his astute gameplanning and fight preparation and reviled by others for instilling what they see as conservatism in his pupils, Jackson has become MMA‘s most recognized trainer by walking the line between legend and outcast.
In terms of effectiveness, Jackson’s track-record speaks for itself. But on the other hand, the criticism that is so frequently leveled at him—that his fighters are boring, that they play it safe, that they pass up chances to finish in favor of coasting to a decision wins—is largely unfounded.
In fact, the “boring” Greg Jackson fighter is an archetype grounded in little more than myth and misperception.
The myth has roots in the expectations that grew alongside Jackson’s own notoriety, a misplaced frustration with Georges St-Pierre’s inability to finish opponents and the inevitability that a camp supporting so many fighters will inevitably be linked to dull moments from time-to-time.
Where the myth has no roots is in fact or reality, and its weak holds there mean that it can very easily be turned on its head.
Don’t believe me? Check out the following list of Jackson-trained fighters who collectively lay waste to the fallacy that the trainer produces a disproportionately passive, defensive crop of mixed martial artists.